Arts of Darkness
Arts of Darkness Way of the Shadow In the following days Victor had introduced Morgan to the rest of his family; his daughter, Maria, and his wife Vanessa. Vanessa was thrilled, saying she'd love for someone their daughter to bond with. As Maria was excited to have someone her age to bond with the young Dragon Slayer was soon taken in by her. Being somewhat a "taught at home" Mage, Maria instilled some of what she learned by her own father as well as various people her father had taken in as guests in their home. Wanting to be an amazing Wizard herself someday her marvelling at Morgan's talents as a Dragon Slayer were nothing short of fangirlish as she had delved much into the history books surrounding the nearly mythological roots. After a single week of simply establishing herself into the life as an Alexander, one of which Victor had taken care of the legalities of keeping the girl in his custody, he started her first day of training. Taking her to a room made mostly of surprisingly resilient paper flooring infused with a barrier magic that was similarly aligned into the lacquered wall and arched ceiling with a skylight. It was bare bones with no sign of padding or anything else. Everything seemed practically old fashioned when one would view this form of practice room in comparison to other Guild practice halls. Joined with him would be the ever-present Diana while Maria would watch in fascination of what would occur. Making sure to give Morgan a black colored silk gi with a white obi belt while he wore a dark crimson gi with a golden colored obi he led her to the center of the mat. "Alright, Morgan," Victor rang out, more as an authoritative figure and less of a father he had been treating his newly adopted daughter. Turning on his heel he addressed her from a distance of five meters, placing one foot in front of the other, raising one hand readied while other was kept folded be hind his back. "I want you to try and hit me. It doesn't matter if you use raw force or Magic. I want you to try and land a solid blow on my body." "Do your best, Morgan!" Maria cried out from afar, dressed in her own white gi and black obi, while Diana was dressed in a black gi of her own with a mirroring obi similar to Morgan's. She simply smiled and leaned against the training room's wall, knowing undoubtedly what was to come form this training exercise. During her first week, Morgan had felt like a fish out of water. So used to being alone, she initially found it difficult to adjust to living with a house full of people. As Victor introduced her to his family, she couldn’t hide how happy she was that they were all willing to accept her, even if she couldn’t accept herself or her own past. For the first time in years, the broken doll that nobody bothered to fix slowly started being pulled back together, even just a little bit. Much to her frustrations, however, her first few nights with her new family had been quite rocky, especially where Maria was concerned. The young Dragon Slayer took offense with the fact her adoptive sister was fascinated with the cursed gift that those who could destroy even the mightiest beasts had possessed. To Morgan, it was an affront to the nightmares she endured and to her suffering. The frustration had eventually built to the point one night while the two were simply relaxing, an off-hand remark from Maria had sent the poor former thief over the edge. “Shut up! Just...shut up! It’s nothing to find interesting! You have no idea what I’ve had to go through for this stupid power. It’s not glamorous or romantic. It’s nothing good! And certain not cool! So just shut up about it!” she had screamed in a brief flash of anger. But even running on raw emotion as she was, the look that she saw cross Maria’s face was etched into her mind. She knew the damage was done, her words as sharp as her blade. When the girl had stormed off in tears, Morgan simply trudged back to her room, her head low in a vain attempt to hide the mixture of seething anger and self-loathing that followed her outburst. Not long after the explosion of emotion, Victor had come to question her on the matter. Morgan was thankful it was Victor rather than anyone else he could have sent in his stead to handle it. While she tried to justify herself, her wrath, she could already know that Victor had something to say that would have given her the opposite perspective, but not quite removing her right to be angry. And she was right. Victor explained why Maria thought it was awesome that her new family had such a power, causing the raven-haired girl to feel worse than before. Before leaving her to sleep, Victor extracted a single promise from Morgan, that she would try to keep a level head on the Dragon Slayer matter. The next morning had been tense, especially when the two girls were in the same room for a given length of time, but Morgan kept herself calm and even apologized in a roundabout manner for her actions the night prior, while still reminding Maria that it wasn’t a subject that should be casually broached again. Breaking out of her memories, Morgan smirked. One thing she was almost sure of was that her speed far outstripped Victor’s. After all, she prided herself on that wraith-like speed. That would make his task for her a cinch. Paying no mind to the words of encouragement shouted at her, she launched an offensive. “'Darkness Dragon’s Burst!'” she exclaimed, using her speed to approach Victor in a blur before extending a violet energy-shrouded hand towards him, firing a close-rage blast of magical energy. "So fast!" Maria shouted out, almost cupping her mouth with awestruck glee at seeing the power for the first time. But that was later debunked when she saw what her father had done. Despite the streak of darkness that had been left in Morgan's wake, Victor's arm seemed to have easily parried the forward lancing limb. As a result, the explosion of Magical energy happened as she'd tumble to his right, the barrier magic within the floor dispersing the shock of it. What it didn't do was completely halt the recoil of Magic it undoubtedly hit the young girl. "Huh?" Maria uttered as she blinked with confusion. "As fast as she is, she telegraphed herself too much for someone like Master Victor to ignore," Diana commented with a knowing smile. As her opening attack was parried, Morgan simply scowled. But then she felt the rebounding shockwave of her power lash out against her, knocking the wind right out of her for a brief moment. As much as she hated to admit it, such a display just made her look weak in her own eyes. She despised the fact she had been stalled so easily. After a few seconds to catch her breath, she went on the offensive once more. She began by trying to land what looked like a simple punch, only to stop just before impact. She pushed her speed to it’s limits, dancing around Victor to get to his blind spot and attempted a high speed kick, redirecting all of the momentum generated into her foot, ensuring that if her strike landed, it would hurt, to say the least. Noticing that she didn't move at an accelerated rate during her initial offensive tipped Victor off something was up. When she threw the punch and halted it just before his hand could make contact, his eyes widened. In a whirlwind of inky colored momentum she moved around in a half-circle to reach his posterior side. Taking a step forward with his right leg he lifted his left leg to rise up and then block her kick with his shin. The impact made a loud slap, enough force to make Victor slide a few inches on his standing heel. "Whoa!" Maria gasped at seeing Morgan land a blow, even if blocked, on the second try. "Very good, Morgan," Victor complimented with a smile, lower his leg back down onto the mat while keeping his posture, "I'd like to ask you waht you did differently than your first attempt that made you so successful?" Morgan smirked as she felt her leg slam into Victor’s. The fact her speed-enhanced kick was able to push the man back a bit, even just a little, made her glad the gambit had paid off, even if the effort was blocked in the end. “It’s simple. My first attack was to see if I could outright overwhelm you with raw speed. When that failed, I decided to get clever. I had to distract you, since I realized you could see my moves. Otherwise, I’d never be able to so much as lay a single finger on you. And so, I obscured my intentions, made you expect one thing while I attacked elsewhere.” she stated matter-of-factly "Very good," Victor commended her, glad to see she knew what the point of the first demonstration was. "I think you have a basic understanding for this fighting style. But tell me, if you were fighting someone who wasn't just using their bare hands and normal five senses against you, how effective would that tactic work? Do you think I'd react in the same way if I used Magic to counter it?" Diana smiled while Maria penciled down notes, intrigued by the query her father was giving to her new sister. At that, Morgan frowned. “Of course not. If you were using magic, my attack would have been rendered virtually ineffective. You very well might have been able to stop me before I could have even attacked in the first place.” As she spoke, she realized how stupid it had been to assume Victor wouldn’t use magic to counter her at any point. "She has no delusions that she can best me if I tried. I'm glad she knows that firsthand rather than Maria having ot learn the hard way. It took a week before she stopped complaining from the pain of our first exercise," He remembered with a slight chuckle at Morgan's answer. Raising up a hand, he countered with a swing of his finger like a hand from a clock, "Not all Magic is invincible. Some spells are designed to penetrate barriers, avoid obstacles or defeat even giants. Darkness Magic isn't meant to obliterate through force or attrition. Its meant to avoid defenses and strike at someone's most weakest. I notice that you stick to the ground while using your Magic. You know how that is detrimental to you if you faced someone who uses the same kind of Magic Art?" Sliding his feet till the ankles touched, he lowered his hands till they presided over each hip. Standing as still as a statue, he closed his eyes, retaining his assured smile. However he hadn't lost any of his authority or zeal within his voice as he ushered her forth, "This time, attack me any way you see fit. From above, behind, either side or a frontal assault. I shall show you the merits of the fighting style I'm going to instill into you." "That stance!" Maria remembered, her face paling with remembrance what it was. "The Restless Sarcophagus. You really want to drive home this style in the first day, don't you Master Victor?" Diana thought with a few blinks while keeping a knowing smile, eager to see what'd happen next. Watching Victor intently, Morgan wondered what his movements heralded for her. With him standing stock still, she was confused how he intended to parry and block her and why he so casually invited her to once again launch an assault upon him. But she was more than happy to oblige him in that. But before she dared to strike, she had to put some distance between the her and Victor. Once she had plenty of room, she put her plan into action. Raising one hand until it was level with her face, her fingers splayed like claws. Dark energy coursed through her upraised hand, giving her entire arm a violet outline and the hand itself shrouded it purple and black mist, giving form to her strongest melee-centric technique, the Darkness Dragon’s Wingbeat. Only moments after the energy manifested, the young Slayer accelerated towards her adoptive father. When she had closed the distance almost entirely, she leaped skyward and pulled her magically enhanced arm back, the aura giving the arm the appearance of a great wing. From there, she let herself enter a free-fall. The moment she was within striking range, she punched straight down with her enchanted fist. It was like watching something out of a fairy tale for Maria. Her eyes reflected the dark outlines of her sister's Darkness enshrouded arm, rushing in a split second of time her eyes couldn't keep track of. Diana however was able to see her leap up into the roomy ceiling air before dropping down with a punch aimed at Victor's head. The large visceral wing attached to her arm swung forth, causing an enormous reverberating shockwave to shake the entire training hall. However, what it struck wasn't the Alexander's skull. What had it hit was an arm, colored black and etched with white lines. A seeming duplicate arm had manifested from his low hanging physical limb, palming the attack and absorbing the shock outright. While she would process what happened, the arm twisted to the right and then threw her with enough force to send her sprawling across the room. When that was finished one could see magical vapor the same color as the arm rise off his body, seeming to come off various shadows covering his dark red gi. "Not even Morgan can get through that," Maria breathed out with disbelief, briefly believing in her heart that the unimaginable could have occurred. But through personal experience she knew that it was a false hope. "Its Master Victor's strongest defensive stance using the Darkness Magic's Way of the Shadow martial arts," Diana remembered inwardly, watching the dark mantle that seemed to continue spew shadows as if it was a noxious gas. "I can't imagine Morgan can defeat him efficiently in a practical manner. She'll need to really use her head to even understand how to get around its defenses." Not even paying attention to whether Morgan got back up or not, Victor called out as if he knew exactly where she was without moving an inch out of his stance, "Come on, Morgan. Stand up and try again. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." The instant she felt impact, Morgan wanted to laugh at her earlier confusion, but noticed that something resembling a ghostly hand had grabbed her and before she could even understand what had happened, the force that blocked her attack threw her head over heels until she smashed into a wall. The resounding force of her impact caused her vision to swim. Once her head cleared, she saw the darkness spewing from Victor and realized that’s what had bested her most powerful close-range attack. Slowly standing back up, she watched the writhing darkness for any sign of it once again reforming, this time for an offensive. When nothing happened, Morgan knew that her only way to overcome the swirling mass would be to understand any and all limits it had. She prepared to first test the speed of the spectral, shadow-like mass. Holding both hands in front of herself, she focused for a moment before firing a barrage of dark energy blasts, each resembling the fangs of a dragon. After a moment, she ceased her blitz of magical attacks, only to fire a second wave shortly after, hoping the delayed salvo could overcome the magical defense she now had to contend with. "Here she comes!" Victor felt through the sensation of rivuletting light refractions in the room. Like pulses in a sonar he was allowed the ability to see everything in a spectral blackness with movement and attacks colored in pure white. Even mutual Darkness Magic spells were outlined in the alabaster hue to depict their attacks within his mind's eye. Emerging from his back was an eerie doppleganger image of his upper body. Glowing spectral eyes stared ghostly at Morgan while seeing the projectiles appear as a representation of Victor's awareness. Raising up arms that sprang out like tendrils, the pseudo-Darkness body began shattering and reflecting the various attacks while the caster remained utterly still. Even with the blitz's space of time did nothing to truly delay the attacks. To form a more potent defense, the extended faux-limbs created a square shield that absorbed the brunt of Morgan's continual attack. "Morgan!" Victor called out as she continued her relentless barrage. "I want you to imagine you are fighting an enemy that cannot be beaten practically. You have the tools to beat him unconventionally, however. How will you use your own powers as an advantage to pierce my defense? I will not attack so long as you focus on finding a more appropriate method of assault. You have sixty seconds until I start my attack." Sixty seconds. Morgan thought as she halted her onslaught of magical missiles, the short deadline causing her heart to accelerate, the anticipation of seeing such a defense turned into an offense both exciting and terrifying. But she already had an idea on how to overcome the defensive technique, and that idea was a gamble she had to take, a gamble that if it paid off, would give her a deeper understanding of the limitations of the magic. She ran in, straight for Victor. Her left arm cocked back and flung forward, expecting the black arms to physically stop her assault, as they had every time prior. As expected, the mass reacted to the perceived threat of her attack. Morgan switched tactics, stopping her punch at the last second and used both hands to grip the black vine-like tendrils before they could revert to their gaseous state. With all her strength, she yanked, tugging on the substance until it was taut, like a rubber band, and before anyone could even think about what she was doing, she bit down into it, her teeth tearing into the solid, inky blackness. I can eat it, it can be broken! she thought to herself as the unique taste of the magic flooded her mouth, a taste not unlike rotten flesh. She quickly swallowed the portion of it that she had bit off. It felt as if she had just swallowed slime mixed with expired, chunky milk, eliciting a reflexive gag that she tried to suppress. Feeling the bleak energy flood her system, she backed away before the mass could ensnare her. Fueled with the knowledge that she could at least devour the substance if it came down to it, she prepared the signature technique of all Dragon Slayers. “'Darkness Dragon’s Roar!'” she yelled, as she unleashed an enormous black wave of destructive magic. Panting, Morgan could only hope to put a dent into the defense Victor had set for her to overcome. Ordinarily, Victor would have chastised anyone regardless of their affiliation with him for rushing in only after ten seconds of deliberation. But when he felt his defense pulled taut by the young Dragon Slayer, he opened his eyes with realization. Turning his head he watched a large portion of his Darkness Magic swallowed into her gullet. The rapid rise of Eternano within her was obvious by the blaze of violet-onyx energy roaring over her. Then, she unleashed her Dragon's Roar. Abandoning his defense on impulse for self preservation, he stretched out one arm as he leaned into the destructive wave. It seemed to strain against his push, pulsing with mutual Darkness Magic imbued into his palm and digits. Despite this the arcing fissure seemed to grow more fierce and overshadow the space set before his eyes. Eyes widened as he placed his second hand into the pulsing energy now rushing full force at him. His heels and soles dug into the matting, breaking the barrier with flashes of emerald sparks around his ankles causing his body to skid back slowly but surely to the wall. "It's about to overpower me with sheer Magical Pressure alone. Incredible!" Victor was in awe by the power forcing him back. Not even his sizable physical power would be enough. With a guttural growl his Magic was unleashed in a brief pulse of abysmal roar escaping his being. His hair stood on end, becoming a white sheen with dark etches within it, eyes engulfed in a darkness deeper than the Dragon's Roar set on consuming him. As part of his Magical Power came to bear, he tore the Dragon's Roar in half, sending either half crashing into either end of the training hall. Inhaling in and out of his nostrils he brought his Magical Aura down to a more restrained level, allowing his auburn locks to return to their normal color and his eyes become tranquil in their gaze. Even his obsidian Darkness Magic coated arms returned to show steam rising up from his slightly scuffed arms. A visible tear could be seen etched into the normally high durable barrier paper flooring. Looking on with awe at Morgan he raised his hands and clapped, slower than the excited clapping from a wind-blown haired Maria and a normal clap from an equally wind-blown expressed Diana. "Amazing! You did great, Morgan!" Maria cried out with a gleefully bright smile as she leaped up to her feet. "I could never make daddy move back that far!" "Most impressive," Diana concurred while Victor just silently awarded Morgan with a series of slow measured claps. "That's the way, Morgan," Victor thought as he awaited her reaction when she got her second wind. As she watched Victor block and outright overcome her Roar, Morgan grimaced, flabbergasted at the turn of events. Impossible...I gave it everything. And he still beat me. Shaking from the sudden loss of energy, she knew that she had a long way to go before she could best Victor, and much further still before her powers were at the level she wanted. Her breathing, initially ragged and heavy, eventually slowed to a more natural pace, although she was still obviously shaking. Her body felt like jello and lead at the same time. When she heard Maria cheering for her, she slowly turned herself to face her adoptive sibling and weakly laughed. “What, did I beat your record by a step? I was going for more of a him eating the wall situation, actually.” she said with little smile. "That's a bit ambitious of you," Victor commented with a chuckle, taking a few steps forward till he was just before her. Placing a hand to muss her hair tenderly, he released his hold on her crown to turn towards his other daughter. "Maria may not have your natural raw power but she's a clever little minx. While I never was able to be pushed that far she almost got me to yield due to the nature of her Magic. She's surprisingly adpet in spellcraft, I assure you." "Dad! I'm standing right here!" Maria huffed with puffed up cheeks, trying her best to hide her blush of embarassment at her father's fawning over her. "Right," Victor acknowledged her with a laugh, turning to look at Morgan with a small smile, "after you take a little breather, would you like to have a go again? I think you're starting to get the knack of the basics to Way of the Shadow Arts that I wish to impart to you." “In a minute, yeah." Morgan said, nodding in affirmation. She slowly made her way to the far wall where Maria and Diana were and slumped down against the wall, sighing with relief. As much as she was used to keeping on the move, she couldn’t deny that I felt good to take a break after a bout like that. Casting her eyes over to her sibling, she laughed lightly. "So, what did you think? You've never seen a Dragon Slayer in action before, right? Did I live up to your fairy tales from the books?" "The Fairy Tales were nothing like this!" Maria readily gushed, combing her fingers up through her twintailed hair before raising her hands and head up in sync to make a groan of exertion. Then she smiled widely as she looked closely up at her new sister with her hands held back from grabbing her shoulders outright, "ugh! You were amazing! I've never seen dad fight like that. It was so cool the way you ate the shadows. I didn't even think it was really possible!" Diana smiled on as she shook her head, taking care to look at Victor as he admired Morgan's handiwork. She could tell he was proud, not to mention scaling exactly how much he will push her. It was how he estimated the rate of training Maria was put through, though in a far less dramatic way as her newly adopted sibling had accomplished. "Things really will be busier with a new girl in the hold," Diana thought as she turned to look for Morgan's reaction to Maria's gushing. Morgan watched her sister's antics with an amused grin plastered on her face. She couldn't help it, despite her aversion to being praised for being a Dragon Slayer, the girl's enthusiasm was infectious. "It's not just shadows. I can eat almost any form of darkness. If I had to, I could eat the night itself." she said, a hint of pride in her voice. Gasping, Maria's eyes sparkled as she held her hands up to her mouth at what she heard, "T-T-The whole night?! But, if you ate that much, wouldn't you get fat?!" "A bold claim, Morgan," Victor interceded before his daughters dissolved into further innane antics. Smiling down at her, he stood before both girls with his arms crossed. Arching a brow, he inquired. "For someone so studied in the field of Darkness Magic apparently you feel quite confident in your abilities. Perhaps if you could spar with me I'd like to see where all this new found bravado came from. Perhaps I can make it more than simply bold talk?" "Oh no," Diana murmured as she face palmed, her head shook as she heard her master's tone of voice. She had seen him get excited like that around others he had been challenged or traded blows over the course of the years she's stayed by his side. How much of a beating would the young Dragon Slayer be in if she decided to play his game? Morgan sighed, realizing in a way that she had miss-spoke. Before she could correct herself, and dissuade her sister that she wouldn’t get fat from eating darkness, Victor interrupted. As he challenged her, the dark-haired girl simply couldn’t resist the temptation to stoop to his level and go along with what he implied. “I’ll show you that it’s more than bold talk.” she said, hitting her second wind, and her pride doing the talking all the while. Without waiting for her father, she strode confidently back to the center of the room and prepared herself mentally for another spar. Clash of Silhouettes "Go, Morgan! You can do it!" Maria cheered from the sidelines, while Diana assumed a more attentative posture. With hands placed behind her gi clad body, her eyes narrowed to what she'd assume was going to be a far more intense clash. Despite the show of Morgan's aggression and innovation she knew her Master; this wasn't going to end well for the girl. "Alright," Victor clapped out once, then held out both hands, one palm forth to his opponent and the other as if he was holding something upright. Similar to his prior stance he started out at the beginning of their training, it appeared it was a bit more aggressive than the last. Smiling with a sense of vigorous enthusiasm, he called out to her once more, "Hold nothing back! I want to see if you can give me a decent workout, Night Eater!" Morgan couldn’t suppress a proud smile as Victor bestowed her with a new title. Taking his invitation to attack with gusto, she dashed forward and although it was noticeable she was not as fast as before, she was still blindingly fast, especially after the near-disastrous duel she had only minutes prior. Closing the gap between her and Victor, she aimed a punch at his face, intending to disorient the man, making a further assault all the smoother. In a streak of black, Victor responded in a way that was far more blunt than before. Using his right outstretched palm to grasp her incoming knuckles, he held it tight while using his upturned palm to land a palm thrust straight into the center of her face. Turning her own momentum against her, his own swift reaction coupled with her own speed turned his attack to be doubly stronger. Not allowing the attack to carry her very far the Guild Master released hold of her fist in favor of swinging a right hook into her gut, unleashing a particularly bludgeoning wave of Darkness Magic to discharge from the point of impact. Turning it into a grappling whip he'd swing her around the room, allowing her body to drag into the side of the wall just above Maria and Diana's heads before doing a full circle in the hall. Swinging down, he finished his maneuver with her body crashing heavily into the barrier reinforced floor, allowing the impact to be felt as a audible shudder. "Dad didn't show any mercy...just like when I tried to act like hot stuff," Maria recalled with a audible swallow, remembering clearly the last time she felt confident in her swelling progress as a Mage in training. Then she was sore all over for the next week, almost so much so that she wasn't able to renew training, only doing basic exercises before returning to her studies. She winced at just seeing what she witnessed. "C'mon, Morgan!" Victor goaded while Diana's eyes tracked over to her form to watch her response just as assuredly her father was. He returned back to his posture, keeping a less pleased expression and more of a disappointed crease around the eyes. "I thought you learned by now that you, at your current level, can't beat a higher level Mage using frontal attacks. Doing that will just show the gap between us. The Way of the Shadow uses more than brute force. You must adapt and become like a shadow; smoother than a flowing river and more gentle than the wind. It is the most versatile element when used correctly. Now, remember how you adapted the first time and think of a way to beat me aside from using your muscles. Use your head!" As soon as she felt a hand close around her fist, Morgan knew she had made a drastic mistake. In short order, she felt a powerful blow crack against her face, causing her to see spots as her brain rattled around her skull. The blow to her gut forced her to backslide a short distance and double over, spittle flying from her gaping mouth as the breath was forced out of her. Before she could regain her bearings, she felt the tether of magic that Victor had attached to her, and in an instant, she felt herself being slung about like a ragdoll, slamming into a wall and being drug about the room before crashing into the floor. She laid there, bordering between awareness and the sweet embrace of unconsciousness for over half a minute before staggering to her feet. Everything hurt, that she could tell. Pain was the only indicator that she hadn’t passed out entirely. Pain had become nothing but a means to be sure she was alive. Although her vision swam and her body screamed for her to halt her foolish battle, she barely showed her discomfort and simply overruled the resistance to her movements through sheer will. She wouldn’t be beaten that easily, not by anyone. She let the magic she had remaining, as little as it was, flow freely, slightly bolstering her failing reserves of physical strength. The weariness in her body faded and the slight tremors of exhaustion faded. A slight violet and black aura surrounded her whole person as she prepared to launch a counter offensive. In a flicker of black and purple, she was gone, only a faint, flickering image in her place. Bounding around the room at random, she zipped to various locations in an attempt to throw Victor off enough that she could land her own attack. Flitting about with ease, she made no sudden move to strike at first. After a few seconds of this, she appeared right beside Victor and slammed the heel of her foot into the back of his ankle, knocking him back. As the man stumbled, the Slayer appeared behind him once more and delivered a aura-coated punch to his back, not unlike a visibly weaker Wingbeat technique. "She really is moving fast! I can barely tell where she is," Maria thought while the more alert Diana's eyes seemed to flit in sync with every propulsion her body took her across the hall. The confined space gave little area to hide but plenty of area to maneuver and build up speed. Looking over she saw Victor slightly turn his head if not at all, keeping track of her with his lesser known magic, Twilight Sense. So when she appeared to his side, his gaze drawing to her attack at his heel was nothing he couldn't have reacted. Yet for some reason, his body didn't act in the way Diana foresaw it would. He stumbled back, almost looking as if he's about to lose his footing. Watching Morgan throw herself at his undefended back without a shred of hesitation almost made her worry that Victor was about to receive a particularly painful blow. Her instinct to protect was only overridden by her duty to remain as she was by her Master's instruction. It was only when Victor reversed his posture with a twist of his hips that she saw there was no reason to be alarmed. An upstretched arm bathed in Darkness Magic clashed against her Wingbeat variant, creating a clash of shadows that sprouted like with the sound of static, crackling with chaotic Eternano particles dancing in the air. With his guard fully absorbing the technique's force, he thrust his right arm forward and drew back his middle finger with his thumb. "Abyss Sling," He muttered out as he snapped his finger out like a digit toting catapult, unleashing a nail sized bullet of Darkness Magic. The size and scope of it seemed miniscule in dimension but truly possessed a compressed wave of pressure magnitude about its diminutive proportions. Hitting Morgan's chest it would act like a concussive bomb going off and show just how dangerous a single spell from Victor's hand was. Morgan was shocked to see Victor react so quickly to her rapid combo. She had been sure of her victory up until that point, after which her heart sank like a stone. Her pride, as much as there was, disappeared in a flash, one similar to the clashing, howling stalemate her magical fist had encountered with Victor’s own arm, which she knew was only because he had allowed her that much. Horrified and resigned to defeat, she watched his free arm move with lighting speed until it was close to her chest, at which point she felt the sudden burst of energy from his finger slam into her and send her flying backwards. Sprawled on her back, she felt the last reserves of her fighting spirit flee from her. Tears welled in her eyes and leaked down her face, a mix of shame and anger flooding her body. She couldn’t believe that she had been so easily bested, even in her already weakened state, and she hated it. She hated the weakness that took hold of her, the dulled pain that overwhelmed her senses with silent screams to stop. She had put everything on the line and her final strike had failed. With great difficulty, she managed to bring herself back to her feet, fueled only by her emotions and the adrenaline they provided. She vowed to herself that if she would lose the day, then she would at least stay on her feet. Her last reserves of energy were directed not to a fight or flight response, but the simple act of being aware enough to stand. Quickly, she wiped away the tears that rained down her face. Moreso than the blow to her pride from losing, she didn’t want to make it obvious how much she had wanted to win and how much she felt emotionally hurt by her own failure, despite her best efforts.. “I can’t fight anymore...I quit.” she said with disdain. The words tasted bitter even as they left her mouth. She despised the fact she even had to admit them, but more than even that, she hated the fact that she had come so close to landing one last blow only to fail. Maria had gasped when she saw her new sister be flung back like a ragdoll, even after providing a valiant attempt to turn the tide back into her favor. All the boasting she had done clearly was an overestimation. She knew that against her father there was no real way to possess pride after facing him one on one. She felt like she needed to comfort her but the look on her face and the way she shook made her feel uneasy on approaching her. Was now really the best time? "You did your best, Morgan," Diana thought as she crossed her arms behind her, taking care to look solemnly at her grieving form. "But I know that wasn't the point of this. Victor will be better at explaining that than I." Stoically, the head of the Alexander family strode over to Morgan's standing frame. His hands were at his sides while his eyes, unreadable, scanned her beaten body. He knew that she was tough but it was admirable how she could remain standing even after all the punishment she endured. Placing his hands behind his back so one could hold the other's wrist, he looked down at her with a visible frown, letting loose surprisingly detached words from his lips. "Morgan," Victor he began, "As a mentor and teacher I cannot help but see where you're lacking. No fault in your own but the way you move is akin to a wild animal. Your attrition and quick thinking can only carry you so far before you become too easy to predict. There is no grace, fluid movement or forethought placed into any given strategy. It is a mistake even a novice in the magic arts of any element can make when they are too engrossed in natural stores of Eternano or high stamina as you possess both. Power, isn't the issue, it is skill. You need the latter in order to promote the prior, otherwise you will get yourself hurt or worse when you do confront your next adversary. Or worse, when you eventually fight Jadow." Lowering himself down on one knee so he could look her in the eye, he continued his lesson while retaining a equally emotionless visage so she could better understand his words, "I know you fight this way because there wasn't any time or anyone who could teach you better. I mean no disrespect to you or anyone who helped you survive. But now is the time to grow and sometimes unlearning what has been taught to you is the best way. I want you to understand when I train you, I don't do it to make you a powerful Wizard; I do it because I want you to be a better woman as you grow older." Reaching out, he nodded to a wary staring Maria with a wry smile. Letting loose a smile of her own, she skipped forward until she hugged her sister from her right side just as Victor gently wrapped his own arm around them both. Resting his forehead against hers, he smiled at her as they embraced her fully, "But for a first day, Morgan, you did good. You want to eat and continue this another day?" "I love the sound of that! What about you, Morgan?" Maria asked with a bright grin, speaking bounds of her infectious cheerfulness bubbling from the surface. As Victor walked over, Morgan reflexively flinched against her will, her memories of Jadow’s brutal “training”, more specifically the price of displeasing the great dragon, flashing in her mind. She quickly beat the terror rising in her until she regained total control, knowing that Victor would never subject her to the same had helped immensely with that. His words, however, stung just as much as she had expected them to. And yet she could understand the truth in them, as hard as it was to admit it was truth. Upon earing the name of the dragon from his lips, a moment of dread to washed over her, especially since she couldn’t even overcome a human, what hope did she have in battle against such a monster? The only solace was that she would be ready one day to finally wage that war on par with her greatest enemy. When she saw Victor kneel down in front of her, she saw in his eyes that he honestly meant well, and even though he tried to hide it, she felt that he would do whatever he could to help her reach the level she wanted to be at, that she needed to be at to reach her goals, even if it meant a long road ahead. Then the unexpected had happened. Before she was even aware of it, she was embraced by her family, which caused an unsolicited groan of pain as her body was squished between them. Despite the fact her body was miserable and begging for rest, she was honestly happy. Happy to have a supportive and understanding father and a sister who, while at first aggravating and hard to handle, she had come to terms with and gotten along with well. Of course, she had to admit, she hadn’t been the best sister at first either, and still had a long way to go in order to become one, but it was a start. “After a fight like that, food sounds like a good idea.” she said, a note of weariness and pain to her voice. She couldn’t wait to get something into her empty body. Category:Restless Sarcophagus Category:Way of the Shadow Category:Morgan Deschain Category:Victor Alexander Category:Diana Lance